Moulin-à-Vent

Moulin-à-Vent, means ‘windmill’ in French and is the name of one of the most famous of the beaujolais crus, named after a local windmill. The area includes delimited vineyards within Chénas and Romanèche-Thorins. Of all the wine produced in the Beaujolais region, Moulin-à-Vent, or at least the wines grown on the slopes closest to the windmill itself, is expected to last the longest, taste most concentrated, and therefore, in a way, to be the least typical. With time, the wines begin to taste more like old Pinot Noir than Gamay, and some 50-year-old Moulin-à-Vent can be quite a satisfying drink, even if an atypical Beaujolais. It has also generally been the most expensive. The area planted increased in the 1980s and was about 610 ha/1,507 acres in the early 2010s. Ch des Jacques, bought by Louis jadot, is a notable name.